Not only will Saturday’s football game be the first Southern Conference game at home this season for the Virginia Military Institute, but the coaching staff will participate in the nationwide event Coach to Cure MD.
The entire VMI coaching staff will wear Coach to Cure MD patches on their sleeves in support of the partnership between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) during Saturday’s SoCon game against Mercer University. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Foster Stadium.
The goals of Coach to Cure MD are simple: raise national awareness for the disorder and raise money to fund research for a cure. Each season, the AFCA chooses a Saturday for coaches nationwide to promote Coach to Cure MD, this year’s event will take place nationally on Sept. 27.
In 2008 the AFCA adopted PPMD’s Coach To Cure MD program as one of their charity efforts. One reason the AFCA was drawn to Coach To Cure MD was because of the unique parallels between Duchenne, a disorder which robs young men of precious muscle strength and college football, a game where young men are at the peak of their muscle strength.
In 2008, Coach To Cure MD burst on the scene with extensive national participation. Over 200 schools and 2,675 coaches participated in this partnership program between the American Football Coaches Association and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2009, 351 schools participated with over 5,246 coaches involved. In 2013, 620 schools and 11,367 coaches participated.
For more information on Coach to Cure MD, the PPMD and the AFCA, please visit CoachToCureMD.org.
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Chris Graham
